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The Hindu : The newly launched 365 Tours, founded by a group of travel enthusiasts, offers customised tours (even for two people) to exotic destinations.The company boasts of a research team to identify, visit and do a comprehensive research on the offered destinations.This includes study of history, local culture, cuisine, must-see places and more.The information will help customers have a first hand knowledge about their desired destination.The company customises trips to individual requirement. Accommodation is provided in four-star, heritage or boutique hotels which are centrally located and with all amenities.Currently 365 Tours offers tours to Angkor Wat, Uzbekistan, Central Java, Istanbul and Bali. The company intends to launch a new destination every month.For further details contact 42139342 or log ontowww.365tours.in…More

The Hindu : Paper has now become uber chic. In the good old days, in the days of radio licences and when black and white telly represented cutting-edge technology, those were the days of hot breads, fresh from the oven wrapped in brown paper. And if you are an obsessive reader of Asterix, you would know from the little Gaul’s adventures with the soothsayer, the first instance of reading the news from a fish.Now of course you have the radical chic worrying about plastic and its awful effect on the environment. All the high-end snooty nosed places give you a choice of carrying your consumerist dreams in paper bags and feeling suitably sanctimonious as you watch the plebs with their bulging plastic bags.Enough of dallying on referential bylanes and let’s cut to the chase, which leads us to The Bombay Store. Earlier known as Bombay Swadeshi Stores Co. Ltd, The Bombay Store is chock-a-block with the many things to make your home look haute and cool and everything in between.But we were in the store to have a look at the exquisite handmade paper items created by Handpaper World. An alcove dedicated to these products is a veritable wonderland for the closet Alice in us to step into.Starting with wrapping paper in fascinating designs with metal embroidery and pressed leaves to bottle bags, carry bags and gift tags, the gifting template is all done and ready for you. There are also the most darling paper flowers starting at Rs. 35. And keeping the eco-friendly theme in mind there are the stout neem pencils costing Rs. 35 for a pair, which will look super trendy on your table. Then there are the notebooks, handy file folders and albums with antique prints and zardozi on them for that ethnic look.The baby book is delightful and while the cost at around Rs 5,000 might well be steep, it is a good…More

The Hindu : It’s a sunny Sunday afternoon, and hundreds are gathered at the waterfront: picnickers, tourists like me and residents walking their dogs outside their expensive houses near the harbour.The sky is a riot of colour, changing from brilliant blue to magenta in minutes as clouds float past obscuring the sun; the colours are reflected in the waters below.Hundreds of yachts and little boats dot the horizon, bobbing in the light swell.I am at Malmö, Sweden’s third largest city, located in the south-west of Sweden, some 300 kilometres from Stockholm and 45 km from Copenhagen.Malmö is gradually metamorphosing into a global city with its focus on art, culture and education, its world class infrastructure, industries and excellent living conditions.The local university, Malmö University, today attracts thousands of students from the world over.The western harbour was primarily industrial till early 2000; soon after, it started catering to the residential needs of the rich by offering exclusivity in a corner near the sea.Some distance away stands the marvellous step bridge, the Oresund Bridge, which connects Malmö to the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen, leading to greater economic integration with the economy across the sea.Interesting mixMalmö is unique because of its interesting mix of industry and tourism. The western harbour of the Oresund Strait is proof in itself – apart from possessing great natural beauty, it also houses Scandinavia’s architectural wonder, the Turning Torso.HSB Turning Torso, called so because the top-most segment is twisted 90 degrees clockwise with respect to the ground floor, was designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and opened in 2005. This partial residential complex catering to the richest of the rich extends well over 600 feet.The tallest building in Scandinavia, it overlooks over the Oresund Bridge.Malmö’s developmental stages are, in a sense, clearly delineated. The architecture of the city is not a product of gradual expansion and development. Rather, the city grew in intervals with the…More

The Hindu : It’s March and the heat is on and how! If students are struggling to finish their last-minute revisions, parents are fighting their own exam-related anxieties. P. Nirmala, a homemakeris a bundle of nerves as her daughter’s SSLC board examinations (beginning from March 24) draw near.And, to calm those frayed nerves, she has found comfort in acupressure. “I was constantly worried about my daughter’s studies and became anxious when I did not see the visible signs of examination stress in her.Now, with acupressure, the feeling of uneasiness has gone down. I understand that if a child is composed and not stressed about exams, it is a good thing,” she says.While schools have in place their study timetable with online exams, daily tests, revision and special classes, colleges follow their own mechanism. With more than half-a-dozen competitive exams including EAMCET, IIT-JEE, BITSAT, AIEEE to be held in another month ortwo along with the regular Intermediate exams, institutes and colleges are preparing their students to meet the challenges.Venkamma, head of the department of Public Administration at Reddy Women’s College bemoans that the days of carefree childhood are gone. “The age of innocence is over . Youngsters are just hopping back and forth from home to college and then to tutorials. All this is done to ensure that they get a seat in a professional college.Even their dining table conversations focus on the completion of syllabus,” she reasons and adds. “It’s the mother who gets affected ultimately. When children do not fare well in the exam, she’s the one who’s blamed.”Vaishnavi, a student of Sri Chaitanya College in Dilshuknagar is like the thousands of teenagers whose parents take a call about her future. The youngster has a busy summer ahead as she is appearing for a clutch of engineering tests besides writing the common entrance tests of Vellore Institute of Technology, Gitam and Singapore University.“If you want your child…More

The Hindu : Beat StreetInsight by Dr. Jyotsna SrikantFountain, Rs. 200Jyotsna Srikant is a medical doctor who’s also a serious student of music. This all-rounder Carnatic musician has given several concerts, and has also played in many jugalbandi concerts, jazz, and fusion concerts. Apart from accompanying leading performers in Carnatic Music she has also worked with renowned film composers like Ilaiyaraja and Hamsalekha. Jyotsna has even scored music for TV serials and cassettes. In effect, breaking barriers that classical musicians generally set for themselves.The customary varna is in Kalyani by Pallavi Gopalaiyyar. It’s a racy piece and gets over before you figure out what the violin duet mentioned on the cover is. “Gajananayutam” the Muthuswami Dikshitar piece in Chakravaka has a very brief alaap and Jyotsna moves to the higher octaves in top gear. There is no dwelling on the notes in the mandra, and so the poignant Chakravaka barely touches upon its mood, but for some eloquent phrases.In Ritigowla, Jyotsna brilliantly achieves the vakra nature of the raga. This janya of Kharaharapriya is ubhaya vakra raga, it has asymmetrical progressions both in the aroha and the avaroha of the scale. It is this that makes it very challenging to render. Of the two famous compositions in the raga, Tyagarajas’s “Paripalaya” made famous by M.D. Ramnathan and Subbaraya Shastri’s “Janani Ninnuvina”, Jyotsna chooses the latter. She weaves silken phrases to make a neat alaap. Thavil by Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma sounds brilliant imparting a stately feel to the piece. The double violin, which is Jyotsna playing twice in two different tracks sounds good during swaraprastara. It gives more power to the piece and also builds up a chorus effect.“Raghuvamsha” by Patnam Subramanya Iyer in Kathanakuthuhalam is mostly used as relief material by Carnatic musicians. These tunes in the Carnatic repertoire are called “English notes”, and are mostly used to break the seriousness of the performance. But in this case,…More

The Hindu : Around this time, last year, all roads led to Palace Grounds, as a multitude of black t-shirted pilgrims came to worship heavy metal overlords, Iron Maiden.And just when you thought that nothing, and just about nothing can ever beat that experience,the demigod of thrash metal raised its head and left all fans in a tizzy, almost feverish with anticipation, looking forward to the day that Megadeth will not be just another track on your frequently played track list.Rock ’n India, scheduled to be held on March 14, is undoubtedly the most talked about event (at least, as far as metal heads go) and will have metal acts Megadeth and Machine Head headlining the festival. Designed along the lines of international rock festivals like Rock in Rio and Monsters of Rock, the event will cater to every genre of metal music that there is; with seven Indian bands showcasing the best in the Indian rock and metal scene. From the pioneers of Indian Metal, Millennium, to the relatively new, but internationally recognised Junkyard Groove. Besides being a dream come true for all Megadeth fans, it gives indigenous rock the long awaited impetus it deserves. Pentagram, Mother Jane, Thermal and a Quarter, Prestorika and Casino Blues are some of the other lucky souls who will get to open one of the best thrash metal bands to have walked the earth.Megadeth — which incidentally turns 25 this year — is an American heavy metal band led by founder, frontman, guitarist, and songwriter Dave Mustaine. Formed in 1983, after Mustaine moved out of Metallica, the band has since released 11 studio albums, six live albums, two EPs, and two compilations. The band, infamous for its frequent line-up changes, has evolved from being an amateur metal act to an almost demi-god-like status worldwide.Starting in the Eighties with “Killing is my business”, Mustaine with his now-estranged buddy David Ellefson, took the…More

The Hindu : Stillness is a distinguishing feature of leading dance exponent Astad Deboo’s oeuvre. Over the last 30 years of performing, his signature minimalistic style evolved gradually and he continues to believe in it despite the occasional naysayer.“People say there is nothing to such slow, minimal movements. They do not realise how difficult it is to channel the energy in this controlled manner, how hard it is to be contained,” he says during a leisurely chat at the Ranga Shankara café. “Some even say ‘Oh, he’s getting on in years that’s why…’” he trails off with a sardonic chuckle.Deboo recently performed at the India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) New Performance Festival. The performance, called “Rhythm Divine”, is a collaboration with the Pung Cholam dancers of Manipur. An energetic, almost acrobatic form of dance that is performed with the Manipuri classical drums (the pungs), Pung Cholam is an essential part of social and devotional ceremonies in Manipur. The form, one would imagine, is in high contrast with Deboo’s particular modern style, the hallmarks of which are discipline, control and an exquisite sense of balance. So how did the collaboration work?“I worked with them on their technique. I taught them to slow down their movements, to do things in slow motion,” Deboo explains. “Pung Cholam is much more vigorous. They always dance with their pungs or cymbals so they had to get used to dancing without them. Initially, they were uncomfortable in the sequences where they had to drop the instruments. I would have liked some movements to be even slower.”Deboo rehearsed with Guru Seityaban’s troupe for one-and-half years in Imphal where the boys live. Six-hour practice sessions had to be broken up to accommodate the vagaries of life and livelihood in these parts. “Sometimes, the boys had to travel to far-off villages to perform at some ceremony there, we had to work around all of that.”For someone…More

The Hindu : He made less news as an intelligent winner of the Gladrags Model Hunt (1994) and more as Lara Dutta’s beau. He was more noticed for his ‘different’ looks and less for his acting talent. A few Hindi films (“Khamosh – Khauff Ki Raat,” “Fareb,” “Ek Ajnabee” and “Tango Charlie”) did little to boost his career.So, what brings Kelly Dorjee back in news? It’s his hit film in Telugu “Don No 1” directed by Raghava Lawrence. The film is now dubbed in Hindi and is likely to release in the first week of March. Nagarjuna plays the lead.Says Dorjee, “‘Don No. 1’ is a major hit in the South. It was released in December last year and has already made Rs. 60 crores. I play Sikandar, an international don. He is a Robin Hood of sorts. He is based in Pakistan and is a global terror. But he is yet to overtake Surya (played by Nagarjuna), the Don No. 1 from India. How he confronts him and how the two villains try to outdo each other is what the film is all about. The film’s story may not be great but its presentation is. My character is highly stylised. There’s coloured hair, white suits and Russian women bodyguards. This look came after I had a long debate with Raghava. He wanted to give me the typical ‘Tango Charlie’ look. But I refused.”Kelly plays villain by choice. “There are many ways to play a villain but one way to play a hero,” he quips. But he still finds it tough to convince the director not to typecast him.“It’s very difficult to convince directors that a villain need not be loud-mouthed and endorse a particular style. For me so far, the best villain in today’s Hindi films is Saif in ‘Omkara’. I want to corner that empty villain corner in Bollywood but I repeatedly get the same roles.”…More

The Hindu : Axle sensed the Pacific Ocean vibrating around him and lethargically floated up from the sandy seabed where he had been lounging. They had arrived right on time and he thrived on the attention they always showered on him.The first group of divers descended into the crystal clear waters of the Pacific at the Castle Rock dive site and Axle made a few lazy swings of his tail and gently glided into their view. Then came the part he loved the best. As soon as he was spotted by the divers their smooth fluid movements turned into jerky contortions as they tried to draw each others attention towards Axle and simultaneously gestured the “ok” sign forming a ring with the thumb and the forefinger – the universal sign that divers use to indicate an awesome sighting under water.He swam right up to one of the divers who seemed the most excited and stayed with him, enjoying the wide-eyed look of amazement plastered on his face behind his mask.Behind my mask I continued to stay wonderstruck as I watched the big 1.2-meter long Malabar Cod swim away. On the boat during the pre-dive briefing, the dive master had mentioned that we might see the cod, but I hadn’t expected the fish to swim up to me, peer into my mask and demand attention and pampering.Great Barrier ReefIt had been a wonderful day so far. That morning I’d driven up to the Marina Mirage in Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia and checked into the Quicksilver’s Dive Centre where I’d pre-booked a diving trip out to the famous Great Barrier Reef.I was grouped along with three other divers with similar experience and Richard our dive master briefed us about the dive. The first site that we were heading out to was called Phil’s Reef. The only part about diving that I am not to fond off is the gearing up….More

The Hindu : The ever so youthful yet always maturing detective brothers The Hardy Boys are back to solve the labyrinth mysteries, only this time it’s not in paperback.Papercutz, an American publication agency released a set of Hardy Boys graphic novels. The series is based on the characters of the original creator of the teen crime thriller franchise Franklin W. Dixon, however, the graphic novels are written by Scott Lobdell of the Uncanny X-Men fame. Lea Hernandez who previously worked on projects like “Marvel Mangaverse: The Punisher” and D.C Comics’ critically acclaimed series “Transmetropolitan” has done the illustrations for the graphic novels.This revamped version of the Hardys will certainly give a boost to the franchise which has been suffering a deadlock situation in the recent past. The stories focus on the two teenage crime-fighters who use modern-day technology to outwit and battle criminals.Old allies like Chet Morton will be returning and readers will also get a sense of the Hardys’ personal lives as on most cases, they team up with their soul mates, Callie Shaw and Iola Morton.The first issue of this series is entitled “The Ocean of Osyria”, originally released in 2005, sees Frank and Joe together with girlfriends Callie and Iola in search of a Mid-Eastern art treasure.The Hardys have to focus on rescuing their friend Chet Morton, who has been falsely accused for buying the artefact in an online auction. This edition will definitely be a favourite among the fans as it takes the dark-haired Frank and the blond Joe on a mission all around the world.The other Hardy Boys graphic novel titles include “Identity Theft”, “Mad House”, “Malled”, “Sea You Sea Me”, ““Dude Ranch O’ Death” and “The Deadliest Stunt”.The titian-haired girl detective, Nancy Drew, also receives similar treatment as she too transcends paperback and has been given a new life as a graphic novel. Originally created in the early 1930’s as the cocky,…More